Corn on the Cob With Green Coriander Butter

Published July 19, 2020

Corn on the Cob With Green Coriander Butter
Heami Lee for The New York Times. Food stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop stylist: Rebecca Bartoshesky.
Total Time
15 minutes for boiled corn, or 1 hour for grilled corn
Rating
4(237)
Comments
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Green coriander, or the fresh seed of a cilantro plant, is known for its intensely aromatic, slightly citrusy, mildly cilantro-ish flavor. Use it anywhere you’d use cilantro: marinades, dressings, hummus; in stews, soups or braises; in herbed rice; with rice noodles or soba; mixed with oil and drizzled atop poached eggs. In this recipe, a handful of traditional Southeast Asian ingredients — fish sauce, ginger, garlic, chiles and a generous amount of pounded green coriander, of course, are worked into a stick of softened butter. It’s savory and spicy, fragrant and pungent, and the first thing you’ll want to do is slather it all over hot grilled corn. Save the rest of the butter to toss with shellfish or roasted vegetables, or to melt into a bowl of steamed rice. For an extra special treat, brown some of the leftover butter, then toss it with pasta and scallops and a squeeze of lemon.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 2serrano chiles, destemmed and minced
  • 3tablespoons green coriander seeds
  • ½cup/115 grams unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temperature
  • 4garlic cloves, finely pounded or grated
  • 1tablespoon finely pounded or grated fresh ginger
  • 1teaspoon fish sauce
  • ½teaspoon flaky sea salt
  • 1tablespoon finely chopped cilantro
  • Fine sea salt
  • 4ears corn, shucked and silk removed
  • Coriander flowers, for garnish (optional)
  • Lime wedges, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

311 calories; 25 grams fat; 15 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 8 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 23 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 4 grams protein; 340 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    To grill the corn: Heat gas grill, or prepare a bed of hot coals, then heat and clean grates. To boil the corn: Set a large pot of water over high heat. Cover and bring to a boil.

  2. Step 2

    In the meantime, pound minced chiles into a fine paste in a mortar. Remove half the pounded chiles, and reserve. Add 2 tablespoons green coriander seeds to the mortar, and lightly pound until they break up and release a heavenly aroma, then stir in butter, garlic, ginger, fish sauce, flaky salt and cilantro. Taste and adjust for salt, and add reserved chiles as needed. Butter should be very fragrant, highly seasoned, savory, spicy and pungent.

  3. Step 3

    To grill corn: Cook over high heat or hot coals until just charred on all sides, about 8 minutes. To boil: Season boiling water generously with fine sea salt, and boil corn until just cooked, about 3 minutes.

  4. Step 4

    Slather butter over hot corn, sprinkle with remaining coriander seeds and flowers, if using, and serve with lime wedges.

  5. Step 5

    Refrigerate any remaining butter for up to 5 days. Serve with grilled fish, shellfish, chicken or vegetables.

Ratings

4 out of 5
237 user ratings
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Comments

I was going to pull my bolted cilantro this week .... Not true now! Can't wait to try this!!!

Be sure to leave some seeds behind so the plants can reseed and come up again next year. I've grown cilantro for so many years that I never have to buy or plant seeds - cilantro comes up all over the garden and yard, LOL. Same thing with basil!

Samin Nosrat always makes me happy. I, too, save the cilantro seeds and will definitely try this recipe. I try to harvest all the cilantro before it bolts and make pesto with it using pepitas instead of nuts. I freeze the pesto in ice cube trays and then store in freezer bags for later use. It is a delicious ingredient to add to food many months after my fresh cilantro is gone.

I made this a few years ago, and just lucked into the right amount of fresh coriander seed. I'm so excited to have this recipe in my forever recipe box.

This is possibly the best combination of flavors ever. So good on fresh sweet corn, shrimp- anything. Freezes well too

--substitute cilantro leaf + regular coriander seed + lemon zest for green coriander

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